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Hi there. Our family is relocating to Raleigh from Dallas. We have two children in first and fourth grades. We are interested in a family-friendly ITB neighborhood where kids run around between houses, the neighbors are fun, and there are good public school options (though we are considering private as well). My husband and I are in our mid-40s. Our housing budget is $1M give or take. We currently live in central Dallas where we can walk to Starbucks, restaurants, the small grocery store and shopping. Would love some insight on ITB and/or North Raleigh neighborhoods that might fit the bill. We currently live in a renovated 1931 Tudor with a small lot, so we get the old neighborhood limitations, though we wouldn't mind a little more yard for our young lacrosse player. Would love your feedback! Thanks in advance.
please make sure that you engage (or are assigned) to an ITB-experienced agent. Like many cities, ours is a unique submarket all to itself. Values/desirability can change in 2 blocks, and in some areas being next to an unkempt worn-down house mean vastly different things. There are desirable "busy" roads, and those you don't want to be stuck on.
For the right house, plan on spending $230-270/sqft, and you may or may not have a garage (or the ability to add one).
As to a general geographic area, you're most likely to be thinking 2 blocks north of Hillsborough running east west, Capital Blvd/Bus US1 on the east (depending on the map label assigned to it), and generally the 440 Beltline from the Hillsborough St intersection around clockwise to Capital Blvd. Or, in other words, if you think of it as a clock - from 9 o'clock to 1 o'clock.
In those areas, your children will attend: Olds, Lacy, Root, Joyner, Underwood, or Wiley Elementary. All are well-loved by those who attend. The last 3 are "magnet" schools, though changes are afoot. Middle school will be either Martin (also a magnet) or Daniels. High school will be Broughton.
With ITB teardowns going for $450,000---$600,000 and the lots being subdivided for two $1 million homes to be built, getting the lot size for a bit of lacrosse may be an interesting proposition.
The willingness to consider older construction is helpful, though.
Walkability in N Raleigh will be infill or teardown, but it is easier to find larger lots.
I live in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, across Glenwood from Fred Fletcher. There are a good amount of kids playing outside, playing street hockey and basketball, etc...I don't know how the yards are for lacrosse, but there are kids playing outside. Housing would actually be a little bit less than your budget, with most nicer larger homes going for 500k-750K.
TXTransplant,
Don't dismiss buying a fixer upper in ITB. We moved from AZ and purchased a 5200 sq ft home on almost 1 acre and gutted it. We can walk to North Hills and ride our bikes on the greenway from our yard. It is like a brand new house inside but with mature trees and character. We got it for a good price (for this neighborhood) and spent 7 months renovating.
Most of the children in this neighborhood go to St. David's, Ravenscroft and the Catholic schools. Very few go to Root Elem and Broughton HS. That's not to say that our zoned schools are bad. It is really just personal preference. I looked at 6 different schools (public and private) and ended up at one (private) that academically is great but socially is not the best fit. We are giving it 1 year and then will re-evaluate.
Most of my neighbors are native Raleigh but we have a few families who have moved from other places in the country (like ourselves). Everyone is extremely welcoming and there is no "snobbiness" that we are not native. After we moved in (this June), I had 5 different neighbors stop by with casseroles, flowers, and an invitation to a welcoming block party. One neighbor brought us dinner including plates & utensils the night we moved in bc she knew we would not even know where our dishes were in the wall of boxes
Our street is primarily older residents and families with high school aged kids which is great for getting sitters but not for playing outside, etc. There are a ton of kids that walk up to North Hills and just hang out (7th grade and up). I also see a lot of families on family bike rides (we do this a lot). In hindsight, I wish we would have known if there were more younger kids for mine to play with (mine are 7&9) but we loved the location and the amazing yard. Playdates will just have to be our norm for a few years or until we meet more people.
So it really depends on your street but like the previous poster, there are some really nice houses off of Anderson on the market and there are TONS of kids that run around and ring doorbells and ask to play. We looked in Hayes Barton, Five Points and Budleigh with a budget of $1.5 (all super cute areas) but it came down to finding the right house and yard. We have a great house and excellent location but as I said above, children are not running up to our door asking to play.
In hindsight, I think it comes down to where your children are in school. For instance, if you buy a house in the Lacy Elem district (and they get in bc it is capped), then your children will make friends at the bus stop, etc. Neighborhood schools tend to create more of that community atmosphere you are looking for. That said, the St. David's kids are up and down our street after school bc it is nearby.
Welcome to the area and feel free to DM me if I can help in anyway.
Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
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In my experience the larger the house the less free range kids running between them. The parents I've met with children in private school are usually thoroughly adamant about their children playing with fellow classmates and not random kids on the block. The air of exclusivity doesn't end with just the address in some cases.
If you want another option check out Traditions neighborhood. It is in Wake Forest so a little drive but the community is new and still being built. We moved here from Colorado and have found the neighbors to all be really fun and friendly. Just throwing it out there for you to check into as we searched many areas.
Please pardon my ignorance - what is ITB? In The Boonies? Google is of no help...
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